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A nice way to spend a Saturday morning…

A nice way to spend a Saturday morning…

I live about a 15 minute walk from a country park and nature reserve. Regular readers will recall that I’ve often popped over there to try and catch a sunrise or just for a wander around with a camera when the mood takes and I’ve nothing else to do.

Whist heading out recently to I don’t remember where, I noticed a few posters had been tied onto lamp-posts and in other prominent places in the locale. I ignored the first few I passed as I’m so used to seeing such things for a lost dog or someone’s XXth birthday that I mentally block them out.

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Being on the wrong end of a cheat, Savile and a feeding frenzy…

Being on the wrong end of a cheat, Savile and a feeding frenzy…

It seems like not very long ago that I was celebrating the new Century in the centre of London and recently we’ve arrived in 2013 – where have the last 13 years gone? 2012 was a fantastic year for London and for the country in general, whilst being a bit of a roller-coaster on a personal level.

There have not been any updates for a while, partly due to time constraints and partly because of a lack of things worth writing about. I didn’t realise that I’d not posted anything since the beginning of November which perhaps serves to illustrate how quickly time seems to be moving.

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Stripping down a people carrier on the A406 at midnight and the trauma of dealing with an e-bay seller…

Stripping down a people carrier on the A406 at midnight and the trauma of dealing with an e-bay seller…

After all the adventures last week, a period of comparative calm was in order. Apart from Tuesday night. Alex does not finish work until 8pm on a Tuesday and we’d decided to meet up afterwards and get something to eat. Pretty normal as things go, apart from the restaurant we were in being a little “quirky” and having one half of a Fiat 500 stuck to the wall. Quite. As you’ve probably gathered by now, it’s an Italian!

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A bit of non-league, Stevie Wonder earworms a pearly afternoon and being taken prisoner in a churchyard…

A bit of non-league, Stevie Wonder earworms a pearly afternoon and being taken prisoner in a churchyard…

Saturday saw me at Billericay Town FC for their home match against Basingstoke Town FC (two “BTFC’s” for the price of one? Bargain!) which meant a chance to catch up with fellow London and music enthusiast, Dave Cristy, or DC, as he is known. I’d not seen him since Basingstoke played Brentford last November, and DC, as is his way, was able to recall the date and result without missing a beat. It was really good to see him and fill him in on everything that has been going on in my hula-hoop since then, which took some time!

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South of the River. Really?

South of the River. Really?

I spent a thoroughly pleasant evening on Wednesday along the South Bank of the Thames. Alright, alright, I kept the North Bank in sight at all times and it only went out of view for about 20 minutes, so I was still within the Rules. No need to call a vet or declare a national emergency!

Considering it is late September, the weather was quite warm, there was literally a spot or two of rain and everyone seemed to be enjoying the evening. Unusually, I didn’t have a camera with me. I think I mentioned a few pages back that I always close my programme with a version of “Waterloo Sunset”. Well, having been right around there last night, I now have a much better appreciation of the lyric than I ever have in the past. One line that sticks in my mind is “Terry and Julie cross over the river, where they’re feeling safe and sound” which in literal terms, means they are back on the North Side. Quite right and proper. This will astound some, shock others and have the rest sending the men in white coats to my abode – but <gulp> south of the river does not seem so bad… NURSE!!!

The end of summer, thoughts on the Olympics, truth about Hillsborough and some wonderful news…

The end of summer, thoughts on the Olympics, truth about Hillsborough and some wonderful news…

22nd September 2012

This once a week lark is proving to be a bit of a hit and miss affair, isn’t it? It WILL get back to normal soon, I’m sure, but there has been quite a lot going on both personally and in London generally – I’ve started this entry about a dozen times but seem to struggle getting past the first section. Some of you that know me quite well will know why, others will probably come to know why, in time.

So, what has happened since I last put finger to keyboard?

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Bye bye Maxie, a matter of National Importance & being back on the wireless…

Bye bye Maxie, a matter of National Importance & being back on the wireless…

Did we just have our last Bank Holiday weekend of 2012?

A quick look at the calendar confirms that it was indeed, the last one, as Christmas is a mid-week affair this year. We’ve also had an extra day for Her Majesty’s Diamond jubilee, although the weather had read the script and washed it out. Much this same as the one last week, really.

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Buying the ear-piece, dealing with a crisis and prima-donnas…

Buying the ear-piece, dealing with a crisis and prima-donnas…

When last I heard, the death toll from the Beijing flooding had reached 77, which is really terrible. I’ve been keeping a watch on the BBC’s Chinese services and it would seem that several urgent reviews are under-way. I just hope that everyone involved in building and infrastructure over there takes note of the tragedy and that they design around it for the safety of future generations.

Regulars will remember that I recently tried in vain to purchase a Bluetooth ear-piece. Well, I was up in Oxford Street last week and as my meeting finished much earlier than advertised, I decided to have a walk back towards the east.

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The power of the weather, abuse of power by jobsworth guards and playing with a fish-eye…

The power of the weather, abuse of power by jobsworth guards and playing with a fish-eye…

Well, the weather in the past week has put paid to most things, be it gigs in Hyde Park, the Red Arrows display team or all manner of other things. The news on Saturday put all this into perspective with the terrible events happening in Beijing. With the worst rainfall in some 60 years at least 37 people have been killed and countless hundreds injured. There have since been questions about the infrastructure in the city and its ability to cope with such conditions.

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Giggin’ in the City and the let-down of the Shard…

Giggin’ in the City and the let-down of the Shard…

I had a fairly big “to do” list for Thursday in terms of photographic bits and pieces. As the majority was in the open air I was keeping a close watch on what the weather was up to – for anyone who reads this from outside the UK (and I know there are a few) we’ve had constant rain for over a week here and it is starting to get a bit tedious.

We were supposed to take delivery of some thunder and lightning during the evening and I was rather keen to be under-cover when it arrived – the schedule was arranged to put me under cover at a gig when it was supposed to hit (no point in getting old if you don’t get artful with it) but our weather is unpredictable at best.

The last thing on my list was the official “opening” of The Shard which was due to take place at 22:15, so I didn’t venture out until around 15:30, this looked to give me enough time to get to the first port of call and then follow my loosely connected schedule. I landed in Victoria just before 5pm, which, in hindsight might not have been the wisest thing to do, but at least I was heading in, when the masses were going in the opposite direction.

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